ABSTRACT:
We
present the first evidence that cats experience visual illusions and that a
non-human animal can see illusory motion. In three videos we show cats reacting
with hunting behavior when watching the Rotating Snakes illusion. This is taken
to mean that cats see illusory motion in this image due to the propensity of
cats to pursue movement. This is further supported by a survey where 29% of the
respondents answered that their cat reacted to the illusion. A number of
preferential looking experiments were also indicative of cats experiencing the
illusion, but not conclusively so.